Recumbent News, Products, & Events

Dashing Doctor Dan Sets the Record

Posted by Joe Reichert on May 26, 2011

In 1964, 18-year-old Dan Fallon made local news when his 2,000-mile cycling journey was unexpectedly cut short when he crashed his Schwinn 10-speed to avoid a motorbike that swerved into his path. Now 63, Dr. Dan is making good on his distance cycling ambition with a series of bold attempts at record setting rides.

On March 29, 2009, Dr. Dan became the Ultracycling record holder for his age group by riding the West-East route across Indiana in just 7:26:55. He averaged 20.57 mph across the 151.5-mile route on his Bacchetta Aero Titanium recumbent. According to the ride report by Ultacycling official Sam Hill, Dr. Dan rode through “bitter cold along with continuous mist and snow” starting almost an hour late because of the slow transportation to the starting point on slippery interstate roads.

Next up for the Dashing Doctor is an attempt at the record for the 151-mile ride across Illinois from Alton to State Line, Indiana. He’ll attempt this considerably more challenging route on April 26th as he navigates through the rolling hills of southern Illinois.

Once again, I’ll serve as crew chief with the Amling’s mobile repair van providing full support for Dan along the way. This is an especially fun support role for me, as we’ve worked hard to fit the bike to Dan’s specific needs since he’s on it for 7 hours straight. For instance, we’re working on a better method for mounting the water bottle so Dan can make easy substitutions.

Everyone at Amling’s hopes you’ll join us in wishing Dan the very best of luck in his pursuit of the Illinois cross-state record. Go get ‘em, Dashing!